Mozilla is sparking the ire of users who have long used the company's Firefox browser as a means of avoiding the advertising centric browsers from Microsoft and Google, which promote ads and help to drive revenue through Internet searches. The move has left many Firefox users questioning the overall aims of the company and the updates to the new look browser launched lately.
As per the company, it will begin testing sponsored content on tabs when a user opens a new window or tab in order to reach a new website or make a search. This, the company hopes, will allow them to compete and generate more revenue to better deliver content and a browsing experience for users.
Mozilla said that despite moving toward adding some advertising to the already existing nine boxes that reveal the most visited sites of a particular user, it will not have an overload of advertising and logos on new tabs or windows.
Johnathan Nightingale, vice president of Firefox, said in a blog post that the controversy over the announcement of the language in the revealing of advertising was misunderstood. The initial press statements said it was "hard to decipher" and the company was concerned that many people felt they would no longer have control over their searching and Internet browsing.
"That's not going to happen. That's not who we are at Mozilla," Nightingale says in the post.
He added that tests were made and designed by the company before making the announcement in order to gauge how and what users want to learn and understand as well as what aspects of browsing are ignored or not used on a daily basis.
"These tests are not about revenue and none will be collected. Sponsorship would be the next stage once we are confident that we can deliver user value."
For now, Firefox and Mozilla are hopeful that by generating some more revenue without devolving into an ad-focused search - much as Google, Yahoo and others have done in previous years - where the highest bidder gets the most ad space, can help to boost the company's ability to deliver a more innovative and easier browsing experience without charging users to download.
Mozilla also reiterated a company policy that does not allow them to use any personal information besides location in order to deliver better search results. That should help ease a lot of concerns that ads would target specific individuals based on a saved search history the company has access to.
